Today, we decided to do a fun introductory activity to get the kids thinking about different types of weather. After helping with homework, we went outside to the playground and sat in a circle. Luckily, it was a really nice day -- beautiful fall colors, a slight breeze and a warm sun. We seized the opportunity to talk about the seasons and changes in the weather. We also discussed hurricanes, and specifically what has been happening with Hurricane Sandy. After some informal discussion, we passed a soccer ball around to kids eliciting their responses to our discussion questions. First we asked "How does the weather affect you?". Each student took a turn answering the question and after he/she was done answering threw the ball to the next person who would answer the question. Only the person with the ball in their hand could talk. We did the same thing with the question "What's your favorite type of weather and why?"
It was a simple activity, but it was a great preassessment. We were able to get a feel for which students already know a lot about weather, and which don't. We were also able to get to know the students -- which ones are shy, which ones are easily excitable and which ones are very serious. It was a fun, relaxing activity that the kids really enjoyed and that was beneficial to us.
I think if I were to do this next time, I would come up with more questions and maybe have the students talk amongst themselves. It would also be great to have the students explore the playground for a couple of minutes and ask them each to come back to the circle with an piece of evidence that weather affects our lives. I think it might be more engaging and get the kids moving (which they love to do after being in school for 8 hours). But overall, I think that our lesson plan was a success the way it was.
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